Ministerial Statement on Fifth Set of COVID-19 Measures

11 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Ministerial Statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister on 17 August 2020 in respect of the fifth set of COVID-19 support measures will be considered and debated in Parliament; and (b) whether the revised spending plan will need to be approved by Parliament.

12 Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance what is the basis for announcing the additional $8 billion financial measures on 17 August 2020 and whether Parliament will be able to seek clarification on the financial measures.

13 Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what is the reason for the recent Ministerial Statement on further support measures being delivered via a broadcast and not in Parliament; (b) whether this is permissible under parliamentary procedures; and (c) whether and when MPs will have the opportunity to debate the measures in the Ministerial Statement in Parliament.

The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Heng Swee Keat): Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I will answer the next three questions together.

Mr Speaker: Yes, please.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. It has demanded swift and robust responses from the Government. From February to June, we committed close to $100 billion in COVID-19 support, over four Budget packages, to support our people and businesses.

The Government has been monitoring the economic conditions and having regular interactions and dialogues with citizens and business leaders. The coverage of some key schemes, including the Jobs Support Scheme, was going to end in August. Businesses were concerned if the support would be extended. Many jobs and businesses may be at stake if we did not announce our policy measures in time.

To ensure that we gave businesses and workers clarity on the Government’s continued support, on 17 August, I laid out further COVID-19 support measures via a television broadcast. Our businesses and workers have found this reassurance useful in their decision making.

The COVID-19 situation has affected the projected spending of some Ministries and projects. For example, delays in major construction projects such as new MRT lines have decreased development expenditure. To meet changing needs, MOF reallocated unutilised funds from these areas to fund the extension of these measures. As I stated in my 17 August statement, the measures will be fully funded by re-allocation, with no further increase in the Government’s overall expenditure. We do not plan to draw further on Past Reserves for this set of measures.

MOF briefed President and Members of the Council of Presidential Advisors. To ensure accountability to Parliament, we will present a Third Supplementary Estimates and Third Supplementary Supply Bill in the next Parliament Sitting in October. These will reflect how funds will be re-allocated across different Heads of Expenditure. The Supplementary Estimates will be considered in the Committee of Supply and the Bill will go through the First, Second and Third readings in Parliament.

The Government is responding swiftly to a fast-evolving situation and will share its plans with the public in a timely and clear fashion, while ensuring full accountability for the use of public monies.

Mr Speaker: Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang): Thank you, Sir. I noted in the latest Budget Estimates released on 17 August, the projection for revenue continues to come down. If I remember correctly, it is $5.1 billion compared to what was indicated in the Revised Estimates in the Fortitude Budget.

So, can I ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister whether there are further scope to reallocate monies from the Development Expenditure to fund further spending for this current FY as well as the spending in the next few years.

Also, constitutionally, we need to balance our Budget in each term of Government. So, I would like to ask how would the Government weigh the consideration of reallocating funds set aside for expenditures for Development Expenditures which is investment for the future as well, versus further draw down on the reserves.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: Well, I thank Mr Liang Eng Hwa for pointing out our revenues are continuing to come down. For this financial year, the main underutilisation comes from development spending caused by delays in construction, as workers were in the dormitories and were unable to continue their work. For this financial year, there is still some scope – albeit very limited – for us to consider reallocation across the various Heads of Expenditure.

But for future years we are now carefully revewing the timeline for many of the development projects. So, we must continue to budget very carefully, in reallocating revenues, monies from the Development Expenditure. And the reason why we are first using the Development route first instead of tapping on these reserves, is that we have underutilisation this year because of construction.

But going forward, as Mr Liang Eng Hwa has pointed out, our fiscal position will be challenging – revenues are coming down while some expenditures are continuing to go up and the situation continues to be very fluid. We do not know how the COVID-19 pandemic situation will continue to play out, a point which I emphasised in my speech earlier on in the Debate.

MOF will have to examine the various options very carefully but with the clear goal of enabling us to navigate through this very major crisis and to emerge stronger.

Mr Speaker: Order. End of Question Time.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos 14-25, 27-28, 30-34, 36-40, 42-53, 55 and 57-61 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix. Question Nos 26, 29, 35, 41, 54, 56 and 62 have been postponed to the next available sitting of Parliament.]